Whenever I clutch in or out, I get a very noticable clunkady-clunkady-clunk from the gearbox. The car also jerks "back and forth" at the same time. Is my flywheel busted or what?
Detailed info:
* Omega B 1995, 2.0 100kW
* Problems started with or a few months after clutch change (I don't remember - in any case, it was not immediately noticable after the clutch job).
* Dual-mass flywheel seemed OK to mechanic - he didn't notice any broken springs or lack of resistance by hand.
* Driveshaft looked OK to him, as well. The thingy seemed a little loose but not problematic. I'm not sure what it would be in English... erm... like a joint in the driveshaft? You know what I mean.
* Rear diff oil was checked and it was perfectly clean - no crap floating in it.
* Gearbox was swapped with junkyard part (input shaft was loose-ish, according to mechanic, although not busted per se) but no change.
* Broken motor mount was recently changed. Fixed a lot of other rattle but not this issue.
* I can also feel the shifter move together with the vibration.
* Brake/clutch fluid change & bleed was done; no change.
* Vibration starts as clutch (dis)engages and ends a second or two after pedal movement is complete. Total 3-6 oscillations.
* Sometimes I get a faster ratratratratrat when taking off, with a half-engaged clutch. It's very similar vibration - the gearbox physically moving about - not gear grinding.
* Clutching out while in gear and brakes on (e.g. driveshaft stopped) also causes the fast vibration - not actualyly movement related.
* My engine is oily as hell (rear main seal? or maybe just the valve cover gasket which goes every year seemingly) but mechanic said there was no contamination visible on the flywheel or clutch.
I don't really want to throw parts at it; the gearbox pissed me off as it is - rather expensive part for no good whatsoever... so is there anything I could do to actually verify whether X or Y is the cause? The most likely candidate to me seems the flywheel - maybe the machanic couldn't see the issue by hand. Or maybe the plate surface is messed up. Or maybe the new clutch is defective? Hell if I know, I have never taken a clutch or flywheel apart myself, so I can only guess at what it might be. My mechanic doesn't know what is up either and I don't know any other trustworthy ones.
If I can get my hands on a camera/cameraphone, I'll try recoridng a video of what happens underneath the car as the vibration happens - maybe I'll see the driveshaft flopping about madly or whatnot... until then, all suggestions are welcome, as I am out of ideas.
Author
Topic: Busted clutch, flywheel or gnomes? How to tell? (Read 478 times)